Daughter of the Fortune Teller
by teh tarik
Summary: "This is one of the times when we have to summon up every ounce of our courage to turn around and face our fears headlong." - Can the SD guys get rid of this malicious evil which hounds them??
1. Default Chapter

Slam Dun is not mine. Like duh.  
  
A/N: This story's kinda weird. The prologue's kinda weird. Its supposed to be horror story, but I think people are only gonna end up laughing. Anyway, enjoy.  
  
Prologue.  
  
The light from the street lamps outside that slid in sneakily through the Venetian blinds hung on the windows dimly illuminated the dark shape of a woman hunched over the bowl she held in her hands. She carefully made her way through the darkened room and ever so carefully placed the bowl on a little table. The bowl was filled with a strange silver liquid that shimmered with a beautiful but devilish light. In the corner of the room, on a little cradle, a little baby began to squirm with apparent uneasiness.  
  
"Be still, Yoshiko," the woman rasped. She then reached into her pocket and produced a little leather pouch. She reached her hand in and drew it out again holding a handful of something glittering even brighter than the mysterious swirling liquid in the bowl. It was, in fact, thousands of glittering fragments of a crystal, which held ancient and supernatural power.  
  
Then, she began to mutter something. At first sound, people would have thought she was talking to herself, but when listened carefully, it was an incantation. She was calmly uttering a low, murmuring chant. Then, she threw the glittering crystal fragments into the bowl and she began a different incantation. Her voice rose steadily into a deafening crescendo, and in harmony, the liquid in the bowl began to swirl and froth furiously. Little eddies erupted on the once calm surface of the seething liquid.  
  
Outside, passers-by felt a strange chill. They could neither see nor hear anything in the darkened house. But, they could sense something supernatural with mysterious powers inside it. "Witchcraft, devilry," they murmured amongst themselves and hurried away as fast as they could.  
  
The woman ended her spell with a command. In a voice full of power she called out, "I, Soruko Minaki, open the doorway to the world of spirits!"  
  
The bubbling liquid burst into one eerie blue flame that burned inside the bowl. The flame seemed to be trying to escape the bowl, but powerful enchantments kept it imprisoned within. The shadows on the wall writhed and twisted madly, and an unearthly shriek pierced the silence followed by another and another.  
  
Suddenly, a hollow voice filled the room. "Leave, us alone, witch."  
  
Many would have shuddered upon hearing the sound of that terribly empty voice, so devoid of humanity and emotions. But not Soruko Minaki. She calmly answered, "I will have my answers first."  
  
"You will pay for this one day, witch," came the hollow reply. "Ask, and be quick."  
  
The baby in the corner of the room began to bawl at the top of its lungs. Though only a baby, it sensed something was not right in the room. Something that did not belong to the quiet stillness of the night. She could sense something unnatural going on. All it could see and hear was the room illuminated with a brilliant but hellish light and a horribly empty voice that did not belong either. It wailed again loudly, but its mother did not come.  
  
Tbc.  
  
Ah, this chapter is kinda short.I know, I know. Besides, its only the prologue. If u guys like it , well, maybe I'll continue writing...but u gotta give me ur opinions 1st. Longer chapters promised.  
  
PS: Uh, this chapter's kinda lame isn't it?  
  
PPS: The SD characters dun come in the prologue. But they'll b in my next chapter...(if there is a nex chappie of cuz) 


	2. Chapter 1: Meeting Yoshiko

Slam Dunk is not mine. You have been warned, so don't waste ur time trying to sue me.  
  
[A/N: Umm....well, nothing terribly interesting happens in this chapter either, it's only about introducing Yoshiko in. Just b patient ok?]  
  
Chapter 1: Meeting Yoshiko  
  
  
  
Mitsui walked to his classroom in Shohoku High, whistling a tune to himself. Class Three, Third Grade. He glanced at his watch rather absent- mindedly. He was already fifteen minutes late for class, but he did not quicken his slow, lazy pace. After all, no matter how much he hurried, he would still be late and be punished. He sighed. Well, at least he got to miss a bit of class this way.  
  
Suddenly, he was sent sprawling on the ground when someone or something pushed him hard from behind. "What the hell!" he exclaimed.  
  
He sat up and turned to glare at the idiot who had dared to bump into him like that. It was a girl. She was sitting on the ground, books scattered all over the place, a dazed look on her face. She had long ebony coloured hair with rather confused looking brown eyes.  
  
"Hey! Can't you watch where you're going!" Mitsui snapped rather irritably at her.  
  
"Gomen," she muttered. "I'm running late, that's all."  
  
Mitsui dropped his hostile manner at once. "You are? Well, so am I," he said cheerfully.  
  
"Aren't you afraid of being late?" the girl asked with some amazement on her face.  
  
"We're already late," he pointed out to her in the same cheerful manner. "We're going to be punished, anyway."  
  
"You must be used to coming late for classes," she said with narrowed eyes.  
  
"I am what they call a 'regular late-comer'," he smirked. "By the way, I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. My mother and I moved from Tokyo after the divorce with my father."  
  
"Divorce?" said Mitsui interestedly. "What was the reason?"  
  
"Personal," she scowled.  
  
"Okay, whatever," he laughed. "By the way, I'm Hisashi Mitsui. Call me Mitsui" He held out his hand.  
  
"Yoshiko Minaki. Yoshiko would be preferable," she answered as she took his hand.  
  
"Oh, what class are you in?"  
  
"Class Three, Third Grade."  
  
"Hey! We're in the same class. Lets go."  
  
The sensei glared at them as they both entered the class casually, as though nothing had happened. "Reason for being late?" he snapped irritably.  
  
Mitsui just shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big issue to be late for school. "Overslept."  
  
"Hisashi Mitsui! There are rules in this school, and you can't just walk in and out anytime you like!" All he got for response was Mitsui pretending to shudder in horror, causing a few of his classmates to snigger.  
  
The sensei gave up and turned to Yoshiko. "And you?"  
  
"Uh - uh, what?" she asked confusedly.  
  
"Your reason for being late?" he snapped impatiently.  
  
"Uh - uh, umm, I'm - uh, new?" Lame excuse, but it was worth a try. More sniggers broke from the class.  
  
"Detention for both of you, new or not."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Mitsui!" Akagi roared. "Why are you late for practice?"  
  
Mitsui shrugged. "Sensei sent me to detention for coming late to school."  
  
Akagi slapped his hand to his forehead. "Some people will just never learn," he muttered.  
  
"Nyahahahaha! Micchy is late again," came a familiar voice.  
  
"Do'aho," came another familiar voice.  
  
"Nani?" shouted Sakuragi and a fight ensued between the both of them almost immediately. It only took Ayako's paper fan to stop the fight between the two troublemakers. Suddenly, a little giggle from the door of the gym got everyone's attention.  
  
"Kitsune! Is that one of your irritating fan girls again?" Sakuragi bellowed.  
  
"Relax, everyone," said Mitsui. "That's Yoshiko." Yoshiko stepped into the gym looking rather awkward.  
  
"Aha! Micchy! You didn't tell us you have a girlfriend!" said Sakuragi. Yoshiko flushed.  
  
"Bakerou!" shouted Mitsui back in outrage. "She's not my girlfriend. And don't call me Micchy!"  
  
Ayako rolled her eyes and muttered, "Here we go again" as she brought her trusty paper fan out.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Yoshiko! You want to follow us home?" Mitsui called after her as she started out of the gym when practice was over.  
  
"Sure," her face lit up.  
  
"Nyahahahaha! Tensai will walk home alone because tensai is not afraid!" said Sakuragi.  
  
"Do'aho," Rukawa murmured in the background.  
  
"Hey, Rukawa! Where's your bike?" Miyagi asked.  
  
"He must have crashed into a lamp post so badly it couldn't be used again," Mitsui sniggered.  
  
"Nyahahahaha! At least kitsune won't go riding into people anymore," Sakuragi snickered.  
  
"Rukawa sleeps when he rides his bike," Mitsui explained to Yoshiko, who was looking blank. "So what did happen to your bike, Rukawa?"  
  
"Do'aho, you just said it."  
  
"What! Ahahah! You really crashed into the lamp post!"  
  
"Lets get going. I really have to go soon," cut in Miyagi impatiently. "Coming, Rukawa, Sakuragi?"  
  
Rukawa grunted in reply, but Sakuragi answered, "Tensai has no need for company, because tensai is not afraid!"  
  
Everyone rolled their eyes at the self-proclaimed tensai and walked off in the opposite direction. The six of them (Mitsui, Miyagi, Ayako, Rukawa, Kogure and Yoshiko) walked down the silent streets, enjoying the cool night air brushing against their faces. Suddenly, five familiar figures appeared across the road. Miyagi squinted his eyes to see who was there and muttered in surprise, "I don't believe it. What are those guys doing here?"  
  
"What the!" cried Mitsui. "Fujima? Sendoh? Kiyota? Jin? Maki?"  
  
"It's them all right," Ayako confirmed.  
  
"Hey! Look! The Shohoku guys are here!" exclaimed Fujima.  
  
"I bet they recognized us because of the Number One Rookie here!" said Kiyota while Maki, Jin, Sendoh and Fujima merely rolled their eyes.  
  
"Where're you guys going?" asked Sendoh the everlasting smile still on his face.  
  
"Home, of course. Where else? North Pole?" said Mitsui.  
  
"Oh, lets just take a peaceful walk round Kanagawa. Its so nice and peaceful," said Sendoh.  
  
"Since when did you become a peace-lover?"  
  
"Umm, guys?" said Yoshiko rather nervously. "I have to go now. My house is over that way. I think I'll go first."  
  
"Plenty of time. We'll just accompany you," said Mitsui.  
  
"Is that his girlfriend?" Kiyota whispered very loudly while elbowing Jin. Jin snickered.  
  
"Shut up, you - you baka saru!" Mitsui spluttered.  
  
"Nani!"  
  
They reached a dark house. There was no light shining from inside, and no light could get inside either as the blind were all tightly drawn. For some strange reason, Mitsui could feel chills running down his back. Yoshiko lived in this spooky old house?  
  
"Looks like nobody's home," Maki observed.  
  
"Oh, my okaa-san is inside alright. She rarely goes out," said Yoshiko. She fished a key out of her pocket and proceeded to open the door.  
  
Weird, Mitsui thought. Her okaa-san must like the darkness or something. And if there is someone inside, why doesn't Yoshiko knock instead of opening it herself?  
  
The door opened revealing a dark empty room inside. "OK, see you tomorrow, guys," said Yoshiko hurriedly stepping inside. She seemed anxious to get in. As Mitsui and the rest turned to go, they heard a hoarse, rasping voice coming from inside the house.  
  
"Bring them in, Yoshiko. Bring them all in."  
  
  
  
Tbc.  
  
Umm...well, another chappie done. I'll make sum action in de next chappie of cuz. R&R onegai? Do u noe y I brought in the other SD guys in my fic? So there will b more people to kill off later!!! Nyahahahaha! 


	3. Chapter 2: The Horror is Unleashed

Slam Dunk belongs to Mr. Takehiko Inoue. End of story.  
  
A/N: Yeah, there's a bit more of interesting stuff in this chapter then in the previous. I dunno. Does it suck that badly? "looks anxious" Enjoy....  
  
Chapter 3: The Horror is Unleashed  
  
  
  
"Bring them all in, Yoshiko. Bring all your friends in."  
  
"What was that?" asked Fujima.  
  
"Umm, that was my okaa-san," Yoshiko gulped. "She asked you guys to come in. But you don't have to if you don't want to."  
  
"Hey, it would be downright rude to turn down her offer," said Maki. "Its all right. We're in no big hurry."  
  
"You don't understand!" Yoshiko whispered urgently. "Uh, my mother is a fortune teller. And she'll -she'll probably want to read your fortunes."  
  
"Nani!" exclaimed Mitsui, Miyagi, Ayako, Fujima, Sendoh, Maki, Jin, Kiyota and Kogure.  
  
There was a pause then Sendoh replied, "Cool! We get our fortunes read for free of charge! Lets go, guys!"  
  
"But she reads them in a very different way! Its - umm, very risky!" said Yoshiko desperately.  
  
"Number One Rookie is not afraid of fortune-telling! How can it be risky?" Kiyota bragged.  
  
"Yeah, we have some time to kill, Yoshiko-chan," said Kogure. "Besides, Maki's right. It would be rude not to accept your okaa-san's offer."  
  
In the end, they all trooped into the semi darkness of the room. Mitsui half-expected to see a woman with a turban wrapped round her head wearing long robes peering deep into a crystal ball. Instead, there was a very plain, ordinary woman, sitting on a chair by a small table. He could not see how she looked like in the darkness of the room, but he could feel an aura of power surrounding the woman.  
  
"I'll get some drinks," said Yoshiko and hurried out of the room. The woman turned her attention to Mitsui and the rest.  
  
"Soruko Minaki," she said calmly. She did not wait for them to introduce themselves and continued, "I can open your minds, reveal your darkest secrets and your most desperate desires. I can open the future to all of you, of course with the help of the supernatural."  
  
Mitsui felt goosebumps creeping up his arm. What did she mean by that? The supernatural? What was that? Then, his eyes fell on the table for the very first time. He had spent most of the time trying to see how she looked like that he had not noticed it. It was a small, very ordinary bowl. But its contents were not ordinary. There was a silver, shimmering liquid swirlind inside, giving out a faint light. Fascinated he continued to stare at it.  
  
"I can penetrate the greatest barriers of your mind walls and uncap the secrets you hide inside. I can open the future to all of you. The future that hides much from us. The future that we all work for, yet it remains as mysterious and unpredictable as ever. And all you have to do is to give me your word."  
  
Mitsui snapped out of his reverie. He listened to her words in fascination like he was being hypnotized. Danger signals began to ring inside his head. Get out of here! You are about to be involved in something you don't understand!  
  
He shook his head trying to push out all those warnings out. He knew it was risky, dangerous. But something...something was compelling him to say yes. Something more powerful then his willpower. He had to say it. He had to know his future. He had to...  
  
"Yes." Mitsui blinked. They had all said yes at the same time. Probably a coincidence, he thought.  
  
He could sense that the woman was smiling to herself. She said, "Very well, then. You have agreed." Then she began to mutter to herself.  
  
What the? Is she talking to herself or something? Mitsui wondered. He tried to understand what she was saying, but could not catch a word. Then it struck him that she was murmuring a strange incantation. All of a sudden, he felt a terrible fear strike him. Get out of here! Leave! Must leave! His mind was screaming frantically.  
  
She threw something into the bowl of swirling liquid. He thought it looked like tiny, glittering fragments of glass. Then, Soruko Minaki began a different spell. Her voice rose maniacally into a near scream. The liquid, in harmony began to seethe and swirl furiously. It was beautiful to watch the silver liquid swirl and froth, but it gleamed with a hellish light. Then she shouted in a loud commanding voice, "I Soruko Minaki open the doorway to the world of spirits!"  
  
A blue flame erupted from the surface of the turbulent liquid. A shriek sounded through the room, followed by another and another. By the light of the flame, Mitsui saw her face for the first time. She had long dark hair and dark eyes, and the power she was radiating was awful to behold. By the light of the flame, he could see Rukawa's eyes widen, and Ayako's mouth open in a gasp of horror.  
  
Then a deep voice sounded through the room. It was a terrible voice. It was empty, devoid of all emotions and humanity. It did not belong in here. Mitsui shuddered as he heard the voice speak, and he could see everyone else in the room shivering as well.  
  
In the kitchen, Yoshiko was getting the drinks when she heard the voice. That voice! That horribly inhuman voice that haunted her dreams each night since she was a child. That voice she had first heard when she was just a toddler. That voice which her mother played around with so often. She covered her ears trying to drown it out, and a scream escaped her lips.  
  
"You have played too long with the supernatural, witch!" came the voice. Soruko's eyes widened in shock and fear. This was not what she had expected at all. What was wrong with the spell? What..?  
  
Then she could feel a powerful force in the room. An evil, supernatural force. More powerful than her own. Something was wrong. Something had gone wrong! Without realizing it she was screaming, "Seal the doorway! Close it! Don't let anything come through! Yamete!"  
  
"What the hell is going on?" shouted Mitsui. How were they supposed to put out the flame? Water? It was not normal fire, was it? Yoshiko emerged from the kitchen. She flung a handful of something glittering that was similar to what her mother had thrown into the fire.  
  
"Go!" she cried. "Leave!" Shriek after shriek echoed throughout the room, and then, there was silence. The flame had gone, and so was the liquid.  
  
Mitsui was too surprised and shocked to do anything. Besides, he did not know what was happening. But he could feel that there was something wrong in the room. Something from another world. Something that was once from this world. Something evil..  
  
"What happened?" he asked Yoshiko who was white and shaking. All the others looked badly shaken up as well.  
  
"My mother, she opened the world of spirits! Something went wrong and she lost control," said Yoshiko fearfully.  
  
Mitsui gaped. He did know what to believe. This was like a fairytale, but what had happened just now was real. "Some - something went wrong," said Soruko her voice was breaking with fear. "It shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have -."  
  
Then she said something in a barely audible whisper, "Something got through."  
  
* * *  
  
Soruko Minaki sat waiting in the darkness. She was beyond fear. All those times she had played with the supernatural, now it was beginning to play games with her. She sat waiting. Waiting for something to happen. She could hear her daughter talking to her friends. Then she sensed something behind her. Something not human. She was afraid to turn. In her fear, she was shaking badly.  
  
Turn, Soruko. Are you afraid? You have disturbed my slumber, and I am here now, Soruko.  
  
She went pale. Who was that? It was a voice sounding in her head, full of malice and mockery. She mustered her courage to face the voice in defiance. It was a patch of darkness, darker than the darkness of the room. It had the shape of a human being, but it was not human. She knew what it was, instantly. It was a soul of the dead. She must have had disturbed its sleep!  
  
And those eyes! Red, flaming pits burned in what must have been the face. She could feel the dark shadow creature wrap itself around her, surrounding her in a column of darkness. Suddenly, she was all alone, fumbling in the dark. The dark was suffocating her. Then a voice said, no longer in her head, "Taste the flames of your foolishness, witch."  
  
Then the pain came. She could feel her whole body on fire. Burning. She was burning in invisible flames. She opened her mouth to scream, but no scream came out. Yoshiko! She had to call out to Yoshiko for help. But the pain! The pain! The burning pain!  
  
"Yoshiko! Your okaa-san!" said Maki suddenly pointing to Soruko. Yoshiko turned and gasped at what she saw. Her okaa-san was in the midst of a column of darkness, darker than the darkness of the room. She knew what it was instantly. She reached for a handful of the crystal fragments from the pouch in her pocket and hurled it at the shadow.  
  
"Leave now! Be gone!" she cried, fury in her voice. The shadow unwrapped itself from around Soruko. The crystals held power it could not resist. It had to obey. With an unearthly shriek it fled through the walls rushing out into the night outside.  
  
"Okaa-san!" Yoshiko gasped. She ran to the still form lying on the floor. Fujima found the switch and the lights came on. Everyone gasped at the scene before him or her. Soruko lay on the floor, unmoving. The stench of burning flesh was unbearable. The body was burnt beyond recognition and was still smoking slightly. Without thinking, Ayako staggered and retched violently.  
  
"Aya-chan!" cried Miyagi worriedly. Mitsui was more worried about Yoshiko. She was just staring at the corpse in disbelief and horror.  
  
"Yoshiko, daijoubu desu ka?" he asked even though he knew that she obviously was not.  
  
"Everyone get out of here now," said Yoshiko determinedly. "This place stinks of that - that thing. And be careful. It may be outside, waiting for us."  
  
Waiting for us. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting for them. Mitsui felt chills running up and down his spine.  
  
Tbc.  
  
  
  
So...howz it? Crappy? Think I should continue? Think I should stop? Flame or whatever, just review, onegai? 


	4. Chapter 3: The Killings Begin

Slam Dunk and its characters are not mine..."sniff" Reality is harsh.  
  
A/N: Ah, this chapter's really really long-winded. But hey! I enjoyed writing this chapter, long-winded or not!!!!  
  
Chapter 4: The Killings Begin  
  
The shadow stealthily stole down the dark, deserted streets of Kanagawa. Its intent was malicious. Fiery red eyes burned with rage and a tint of fear. It had been driven away by some force too powerful for it to resist, and it had to flee. For the time being. After that, when the power that was temporarily protecting them wore off, it would go back to them and finish them off. Kill them all.  
  
But now, while waiting, it wanted a victim. Anyone, anything. It possessed a burning, hungry hate. It had evil intentions to kill.  
  
* * *  
  
Saechou Toyama walked to his van. "Last job tonight," he yawned to himself. He worked as a delivery-man, delivering goods here and there to people's homes.  
  
He opened the van door and got in. And then, suddenly, he felt a chill running down his spine. Why was the night so quiet tonight? There was something not right with the silence. Something forbidding. He had better finish this job quick and retire to the safety of his home.  
  
Then, he felt his spine tingle with an odd thrill of horror. Something was near. He could sense that he was not alone. He stared wildly around, but there was nobody. Or so he thought. When he scanned the place carefully, he saw a patch of dark in the shape of a man sitting next to him in the passenger seat. And then he saw its eyes. Glaring red pits of fire taunting him maliciously out of a dark, shadowy face. He began to shake as his eyes widened with shock.  
  
RUN! GET OUT OF HERE NOW! His mind was giving him instructions, but his brain was not responding properly. He was frozen with shock. Glued to the seat with fear. Then, the shadow reached out what seemed to be like a dark hand and stretched it forward. Into his head. Right through his head!  
  
His voice came back to him. He screamed. Not with pain, but with horror and disgust. The thing had reached inside his head. He could feel cold chill of its icy fingers freezing his brain. Grasping it. Then came the pain. The white-hot pain erupted in his brain. His head felt like it was on fire. He was burning inside!  
  
He clutched his head trying to shut the pain out, but it was inside him. He lashed out at the shadow that so maliciously held its fingers inside his head, but his hand hit nothing but air. His hands could go through the thing! He screamed again this time, but in pain and terror.  
  
As the light slowly and cruelly faded from his eyes, the last thing he saw was those red pits of fire glaring out of a dark, shadowy face.  
  
* * *  
  
Fukuda Kiccho glanced uneasily at his watch. Shit, I'm late, he thought. He hurried down the dark, empty streets. He had to be home soon. If not, his parents were sure to ground him for three months. He practically jogged back home. He was nearly at his house, when, he froze for no reason.  
  
For some strange reason, he found himself glancing about uneasily in every direction. For the first time he noticed that there was something not right about the night. The silence was there all the time. That was normal. But, he sensed something evil watching him. He could feel wave after wave of hate, black scorn and malice pummel him.  
  
Gosh, why am I feeling like this tonight? Must be my imagination, he thought. He wished it was just his imagination, but he could feel it watching him. It was real.  
  
Then, all of a sudden, he felt a cold chill on his left side. Suddenly, he was afraid to turn. He could feel a new fear wash over him completely. Slowly, fearfully, he turned. He stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide in terror. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and stood up straight at the sight of those fiery, red eyes. Those eyes were like two devilish flames burning in a dark face with no nose, mouth, ears or hair. Just those eyes.  
  
A gasp of horror escaped him. That was what the creature had been waiting for. With a hiss of evil glee, it rushed in through his opened mouth. Into him. He desperately tried to shut his mouth, but it remained open. Some evil force had thrown his lips back, prised his jaws apart and made them gape wide open while that thing entered him. Then, his jaw relaxed. But it was not him who was doing it! That thing was controlling all his actions! He could feel the chill spreading through his body. Through his legs, his hands, his abdomen, his neck and into his brain.  
  
He tried to open his mouth to scream. But he could not. He was not in control of his body anymore. He was trapped within his head. Helpless. And nobody could hear him.  
  
Fukuda. came a low, rasping hiss from inside his head.  
  
What the hell! Get out of me! Get out! Fukuda screamed silently at it. Rage and hate filled him.  
  
Fukuda, tonight, you will be my tool. You will be my instrument. the hiss came again, filled with malice.  
  
Fukuda was filled with revolt. The thing was enjoying itself. It was enjoying itself torturing him. Never! he screamed defiantly.  
  
But you can't resist me, Fukuda. I am master of your body now. And it will obey me. Not you.  
  
Never!  
  
And after I have used you, I will dispose of you, Fukuda.  
  
* * *  
  
Hanagata Toru walked rather quickly, whistling loudly all the while. It was not a habit of his to whistle. But it was a habit of his to whistle when he felt uneasy or afraid. Tonight, he did not know why, but he felt especially uneasy. True, there was plenty of danger lurking among the shadows in the lonely streets, but he had never felt this afraid before. His whistling pierced the silence of the night, and he felt a bit better.  
  
He turned left into another street and nearly bumped into someone. His eyes widened as he saw who it was. It was Fukuda. Hanagata did not know Fukuda well and they seldom conversed, except maybe in the Shoyo-Ryonan match against Shohoku. Nevertheless, he was relieved to see a familiar face in this dark, forbidding night. He smiled and waved at Fukuda.  
  
Fukuda did not reply. Then he reached into his pocket and brought something out. The thing he held between his fingers glinted coldly under the dim light of the street lamps. Hanagata's heart nearly stopped for a moment. Was that a gun? Then he realized that it was too small to be a gun. It was a fairly long and extremely sharp blade. He suddenly felt all the uneasiness and fear come back to him. Something was not right. Why would Fukuda draw out a blade at him? Suddenly, he wished he were alone again. Just alone, with nobody or nothing with him.  
  
Suddenly, in a movement of lightning speed, Fukuda shoved Hanagata hard and thrust him against the wall. "Hey, what the hell is your problem? What was that for?" Hanagata shouted angrily.  
  
He tried to stand properly on his feet, but Fukuda used one arm to pin him against the wall. He struggled hard to get free of Fukuda's hold, but Fukuda, with surprising strength, held him back. Hanagata was feeling really afraid now. What was the meaning of all this? Why was Fukuda doing this? What was the blade for?  
  
Then Fukuda spoke. "Toru Hanagata," he said in a low, rasping hiss. It was definitely not Fukuda's voice. It belonged to something evil, something that brought chills creeping up his spine and made his mouth dry with fear. "You don't need glasses, Hanagata-kun."  
  
Hanagata's eyes widened. "Nani?" he demanded, trying rather unsuccessfully to swallow his fear. The creature that was controlling Fukuda pulled his lips back, baring his teeth into a malicious snarl. He gasped. There was an evil light shining in Fukuda's sleepy eyes. An evil light that definitely did not belong to Fukuda.  
  
"You don't need glasses, Hanagata-kun," he repeated. Then, Fukuda snatched away his glasses viciously and flung it aside on the pavement, where it shattered to many pieces. "In fact, you don't need eyes at all."  
  
Fukuda brought the blade lower to his face. "Fukuda! What are you doing? Yamete! This is not the time for games now!" Hanagata cried desperately, though he knew Fukuda was not playing around. Fukuda pulled back his lips into a sneer. He brought the blade even closer to Hanagata's face until it touched his skin.  
  
The scream that escaped his lips was a scream of pure horror and pain.  
  
* * *  
  
Haruko Akagi froze when she hear the scream. Who was that? Why did he scream? What was happening to him? Suddenly, panic overtook her and she started running hard. She did not know why she was running so hard and so fast, but all she knew was that she had to reach the safety of her home fast. Suddenly, the dark streets were the most dangerous place to be in the dead of the night like this....  
  
She ran and ran, but the streets suddenly seemed unfamiliar and twisted. She was running in a maze of streets. A labyrinth, where dangers of all sort lurked. She stopped. Her breath came out in harsh pants and ragged wheezes. She cursed silently. In her blind panic, she realized that she must have taken a wrong turning and ended up in a completely different place. But why was she panicking all of a sudden.  
  
Calm down, Haruko, she chided herself. There's nothing to panic about. I just have a hyperactive imagination.  
  
She slowly walked the way back she came, hoping to find the turning she had missed. Then, she saw him. He was standing under a patch of streetlight leaning against a lamp post, watching her with hard, unfriendly eyes. She squinted her eyes hard to see who he was. She recognized him from several of Shohoku's matches against Ryonan where he had been one of the main point-getters for Ryonan.  
  
"Fukuda-kun?" she said.  
  
* * *  
  
Enough! Fukuda's thoughts came out in a horrified sob. Get out of me. Why are you doing all this?  
  
Its not over yet, Fukuda. Wait and see what happens The thing in his head said tauntingly.  
  
I don't want to! Get out of my body now! he screamed in silent hysteria.  
  
Oh, not now. The fun part has just begun. Then I'll leave you.  
  
You cold, heartless bastard! All these senseless murders to you are fun? What are you? Why are you doing all this?  
  
For fun, Fukuda. And I was once from this world myself, too. I once walked here in the very streets of Kanagawa centuries ago. But some foolish people have disturbed my dark slumber. They did not know what they were doing. They set me free again.  
  
Fukuda cursed all those people who had messed with things that they did not understand in, and let evil things loose without knowing it. The thing that was controlling him laughed again and again inside his head. Peal after peal of silent but cruel laughter reached him, right into the chamber of his mind where Fukuda was locked in. He was helpless.  
  
It's your turn now, Fukuda.  
  
* * *  
  
This is where it all ends for you, Fukuda. But for me, it has all just begun.  
  
Fukuda looked all around him through his eyes that he could not control. A sort of dazed horror and panic filled him. He was on the roof of a huge building, which had probably forty or fifty storeys high. Below, Kanagawa lay serene and calm, lighted by the street lamps dotting the streets. All the sleepers in their homes below were not aware of the evil that had come to haunt the night.  
  
Goodbye, Fukuda.  
  
What are you doing? What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Fukuda cried hysterically.  
  
The thing did not answer. Instead, it used his legs to walk backward a little, and then, it started running. Fukuda then realized what it was trying to do. He tried to stop his legs, but they would not obey him. Yamete! Yamete! Onegai! he cried frantically.  
  
Goodbye Fukuda.  
  
IYAAAAA!! he screamed as his legs did a flying leap into the darkness below.  
  
The moment he started plunging down, he felt the thing leave him. And a scream of terror escaped his lips. The thing had left him. Leaving him to plunge down into the swallowing darkness below.  
  
  
  
Tbc.  
  
AAAHHH! That wuz soooo long-winded! It wuz really fun typing it out though. Killing people off. Uh, fans of Fukuda, Haruko, and Hanagata, pls dun get mad wif me..... 


	5. Chapter 4: The Beginning Of a Fruitless ...

Slam Dunk is so not mine…sigh.

Chapter 4: The Beginning Of A Fruitless Search

            "What the hell was that?" asked Fujima shaking. All the others were white with shock. They just turned to Yoshiko for an explanation to what had happened. The air was tight with fear and shock. They were all huddled in the brightly lighted living room of Sendoh's house. In fact, all the lights in the house had been switched on. His parents had gone overseas to attend to important business matters. 

Mitsui shuddered thinking of the scene in Yoshiko's house. The burnt body. The smell or burning, rotting flesh. Burning in evil flames that could not be seen nor felt. He could feel the fear slicing into his heart and numbing his brain. It was confusing his beliefs and his mind. His thoughts came out distorted and unclear, all cracked with terror and disbelief.

            "That was a soul of the dead," said Yoshiko quietly. "A soul of someone who once lived in this world."

            "What?" said Mitsui shakily. "A soul of the dead? How could it be? What happened just now?"

            "My mother. She unsealed the doorway to the spirit world. Something went wrong, and she accidentally released a soul from the spirit world. The doorway was closed before it could go back."

            There was a silence at this. Mitsui could not believe what he was hearing_. This had to be a fairytale. Or rather a horror story. Spirit worlds? Supernatural? Souls of the dead? It had to be part of a nightmare, right_? He hoped that he would awaken from this dream soon. 

            "Impossible," he muttered slowly and disbelievingly. "It can't be, there's no such thing."

            "You don't know. The spirit world really and truly exists. It's not just a figment of imagination people write about in horror stories," said Yoshiko. "It's real out there."

            "What – what do we do now?" he demanded. 

            "We have to send it back to where it belongs. If not, it will wreak havoc and plague its evil here in Kanagawa."

            "And how are we going to accomplish that? Repeat the same feat your mother did?" said Miyagi harshly. "We might end up setting another soul free!"

            "These souls are mostly harmless, but there are some evil ones. Those evil ones belong to people who have led evil lives during their time in this world. This soul that we released is one of them."

            Mitsui said nothing. He just stared blankly at her. In such a short span of time, she had changed completely. She was a totally different person. She was no longer the nervous girl he had first met on the way to class. She was not the quiet, blank girl walking home a few hours ago. There was something different in her. In fact, there was something different in all of them. Where was Sendoh's everlasting smile? Where was Ayako's sturdy determination in situations like this? Even the emotionless Rukawa looked badly shaken up by what had happened. Even the cool Shoyo captain Fujima was pale and not his normal self.

            "You still have not told us how we are going to send it back," said Miyagi to Yoshiko.

            "We have to send the soul back through the way it first entered the spirit world," Yoshiko said, breathing deeply. "That's the only way to make it go back. It can escape the spirit world by anyway, but it can only enter by one."

            "And that is?" questioned Rukawa with narrowed eyes.

            She met his intense gaze unflinchingly and replied, "When a person dies and is buried, its soul goes straight to the spirit world. Its grave is its one and only entrance to the spirit world. We have to find that creature's grave."

            "Nani?" exclaimed Sendoh. "That – that thing could have been buried anywhere! And we don't even know its name!"

            "I'm sure it was buried somewhere in Kanagawa," said Yoshiko frowning deeply. "Souls cannot escape the spirit world too far from the place that the person who once possessed them was buried. We don't need to know its name to find the grave. We only need the crystals."

            "What crystals?" asked Jin. 

            "The crystals used to either summon spirits or drive them away. They can also be used to find open entrances to the spirit world, though. They are supposed to light up when the grave is near."

            "Open entrances?" 

            "When a soul escapes, the entrance it came in through opens automatically to receive it back. All we have to do is to find its grave and send it back."

            "Sounds easy enough," said Sendoh sounding relieved.

            "Don't be too sure," Kogure warned. 

*          *          *

            Mitsui had not slept well at all. He kept waking up in the middle of the night feeling uneasy. They were all sleeping on mattresses laid on the floor in Sendoh's house. Somehow, no one had felt like walking home alone in the dark of those streets. 

The dark was not safe anymore. Something evil had come and contaminated it. Fear had haunted his sleep. They were all going to go grave hunting tomorrow in the daylight.  They had to find that creature's grave, and send it back. Until then, he could not sleep in peace.

            The next morning, the boys awakened. The horror of last night's events was still fresh in their memories. Red glaring eyes and a dark shadowy shape taunting them from the shadows… Ayako and Yoshiko had breakfast prepared. Yawning, Sendoh turned on the television. The news report came on.

"Several bodies or people believed to have been murdered last night were found this morning in the streets of Kanagawa. The bodies were found in several different parts of Kanagawa, but the police believed those brutal murders to have been committed by the same hands. 

"Saechou Toyama, 42, was found dead in his delivery van this morning. His body was brought to the hospital where doctors found out the cause of his death. The inside of his head including his skull and brains were burnt badly. The odd thing was, not one bit of his outer skin was damaged.

"On the other hand, Fukuda Kiccho, 17, was believed to have fallen from a very high point. His body was discovered all broken and his skull was badly fractured. Another student from Shoyo High, Toru Hanagata, 18, was discovered in an alleyway with slashes and cuts all over his face and chest and his eyes were gouged out. The police believe that a very sharp knife caused the slash marks. Haruko Akagi, 16, a student from Shohoku High was discovered in a different alleyway. Her throat had been slashed and she had been repeatedly stabbed in the stomach and chest.

" 'It is obviously the work of a psycho murderer,' says Police Inspector Isata. People are advised to always remain cautious until the killer is caught. Who could have committed all these dastardly acts? Until the culprit is caught, the mystery remains unsolved."

            "Hanagata!" Fujima gasped staring at the screen disbelievingly. 

            "Fukuda!" cried Sendoh.

            "Haruko!" exclaimed Ayako in horror. "Who could have done all these?"

            Yoshiko drew in her breath sharply. "It has already started its plague of evil."

            Mitsui's mind was blank with shock. His brain was too surprised and unprepared at the sudden news to feel any grief for those victims. That thing had murdered them? He suddenly felt a wave of nausea and disgust at the sight of the horribly slashed bodies of Haruko and Hanagata, and Fukuda's broken up body. 

So this is what Yoshiko meant by its plague of evil. 

*          *          *

            "All right, there are seven cemeteries in Kanagawa, one of which that thing must have been buried in, right?" said Maki.

            Yoshiko nodded. "Lets start searching the biggest cemetery first. There's more chance that thing could have been buried there."

            "That would have to be Kanagawa Cemetery," said Mitsui. "Not far from here, I believe."

            "Are you sure this is going to work?" asked Kiyota for the hundredth time.

            "Do you have a better idea?" Yoshiko snapped.

            That shut Kiyota up. Then he muttered under his breath, "Number One Rookie just knows that this whole thing is not going to work."

            They reached the graveyard and Yoshiko drew a small pouch from her pocket. It was similar to the one Soruko had reached her hand in and brought out the crystal fragments to summon the spirits. When she opened the pouch, it was filled with the same crystal fragments. Only now, they were glowing dimly and dully. Yoshiko brought the pouch under every gravestone hoping that they would light up brilliantly.  

            She repeated it many times, and by the time she had searched through half the graveyard, they had no luck and she was beginning to have a backache. Mitsui suggested that they should take turns. After a few hours, they still had no luck and the whole graveyard had been thoroughly searched. 

            Mitsui was beginning to feel sick of cemeteries and their eerie quiet. They were all making a racket in the silent burial grounds by just treading on dead leaves and twigs. He had an uneasy feeling that something was watching them, somewhere. Something hidden in the shadows and sneering maliciously at them and their fruitless attempt to search for a grave that could have been buried anywhere in Kanagawa. He felt a pang of relief when they left the graveyard. 

            "First search in Kanagawa cemetery, the result is nil," said Fujima gloomily.

            "All we managed to gain were a few backaches and getting all hot and tired," added Miyagi sarcastically.

            "Guys, we've only searched one cemetery in the whole of Kanagawa," Kogure said.

            "Next time we should bring along flowers, don't you think?" said Sendoh cheerfully. "After all, we did visit all their graves."

            "Sometimes you're being too cheerful for your own good, Sendoh," Maki muttered.

            "Hn," mumbled Rukawa.

*          *          *          

            "Haruko-chan," came Sakuragi's voice in a barely audible whisper. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, trickling down the sides of his chin. His voice cracked with disbelief and grief. "Who would be so cruel to do this to her?"

            Nobody answered him. Everyone in the Shohoku gym was too shocked to say anything. Akagi's imouto so brutally murdered. Her throat cut and her body all smeared with crimson blood, staining her light-coloured clothes with her brown hair fanned out lifelessly in the gutter. Everyone had watched the morning news, and had seen the horrific picture on the television screen. Akagi himself was not present in the gym today. But the odd thing was, Kogure, Mitsui, Miyagi, Rukawa and Ayako were not there either. There was nobody to comfort Sakuragi or to cheer the grim mood of everyone seated stonily in the gym. 

            Kakuta, Ishii, Sasaoka, Yasuda and Kuwata sitting on the bench did not say anything. They just sat staring blankly at the plain gym walls, each too busy in their own thoughts to care about what the other was doing. Questions buzzed through their minds. Questions that could not be answered. 

Who could have committed such a crime? And why would anyone want Haruko murdered? And Fukuda and Hanagata as well? But most important of all, where was everybody? Where was the rest of the Shohoku basketball team? Even Ayako, the team manageress was not present. What was going on? What…?

Tbc.

Ahh!!!! Enjoying this chappie? I noe I noe, it IS kinda boring. What do you guys think about it? Pls R&R!!!!!! I AM IN DESPERATELY NEEDED UR HELP AND OPINIONS!!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!


	6. Chapter 5: You Have Nothing To Fear

Slam Dunk is so not mine…."sniff"

A/N: Hey, I just changed the genre of the story…I decided not to add in any romance at all…whew…I don't know…just enjoy ok??

Chapter 5: You Have Nothing To Fear…

            Mitsui slumped on the luxurious couch at Sendoh's house wearily. He could feel his back aching with exhaustion and his eyes dull with fatigue. It was night time again. They had spent the whole day searching two cemeteries with no luck. He was even beginning to doubt whether this whole thing was a dream. He even doubted whether Yoshiko knew what she was talking about when she mentioned open entrances and spirit worlds. His mind was cracked with confusion and fatigue.

            The clock on the wall ticked the hours slowly, and it was the only sound besides the snoring of the rest in the other room that could be hear puncturing the silence of the night. Mitsui could not sleep. Terrifying nightmares of the recent events stalked his sleep, leaving him with bloodshot eyes and a face pale with fear. He awoke always feeling more tired than ever. Not knowing what to do, he absent-mindedly flipped the button on a remote control. 

             The television screen whirred to life, and the picture came on. It was the news report. Bored, he started flipping through the channels. Finally, he stopped at his favourite channel, AXN. An advertisement was currently being showed on the screen about the television series Fear Factor.

            _"…Do you have what it takes to face your greatest fear? With a little bit of skill and a whole lot of nerve, you have nothing to fear but fear himself…"_

He listened dully to the voiceover of the advertisement. _Nothing to fear but fear itself. _He shivered. The fear that he was facing could not be countered with skill. And he was already losing his nerves. This was not one of those ordinary stunts they showed on the television. Not just eating worms or swimming with crocodiles or even being crawled all over by rats. To face the fear that they were all facing now he needed blind, suicidal courage. Courage which he did not have. None of them had it.

            His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the slight creak of the door being opened and the slight footfalls on the floor. He looked up and saw Yoshiko. He flipped the button on the remote control again and the screen went blank. She did not say anything but just proceeded to sit on a chair near him. Mitsui actually welcomed the presence of another human being. He needed someone in this cold lonely void of a night where he fought a losing battle against insomnia. 

            After a while she spoke. "Mitsui," she began. "Last time I hated walking alone at night. It was one of my worst fears to walk alone in the deserted streets. But now, now I'd do anything just to walk alone again. Just alone without that thing. Weird isn't it?"

            "It's not weird. It's just that we have faced a more difficult and terrifying fear. All our old fears are almost nothing compared to what we are facing now," he replied softly, gazing thoughtfully at the blank wall.     

_            You have nothing to fear but fear itself._

            Somehow that line kept repeating itself again and again in his head. "Mitsui, you look terrible," said Yoshiko. "Maybe you should get some sleep."

            Mitsui nodded and went out of the room abruptly. He did not feel like sleeping, but he was not going to tell her about his nightmares. That would make him sound like a weakling. Exhausted he lay on one of the mattresses laid on the floor. Nearby, he could hear someone snoring loudly, which sounded suspiciously like Kiyota. He felt sleep slowly settling on his tired, swollen eyelids, closing them with delicate fingers. Soon, he would be floating back in the realm of dreams. Or  nightmares.

*          *          *

            Mitsui jerked awake from his slumber suddenly. He did not know what had awakened him. He felt sure that it had been more than just an ordinary nightmare, but he had awakened with a terrible feeling of dread crawling in the pit of his stomach. His chest was tight with fear. Something was not right. Something that did not belong in here was intruding the peace of the night. 

            Meanwhile, all the others lying next to him were beginning to awake, too. "What's that?" asked Kiyota in a hushed tone.

            "I don't know," whispered Fujima back. "I just felt kind of weird and I woke up."

            "Me too," said Maki.

            "Is it that – that thing? That soul?" asked Jin. Everyone knew it was. Only that thing could radiate such evil and malice. They could not see it but they knew it was somewhere near. Miyagi, who was nearest to the light switches quickly darted towards it and flipped the switch on.  Light flooded in the room illuminating all their pale faces and fearful eyes. Its malevolent presence shook the room, but they could not see it. 

            "Where is it?" asked Kogure. Nobody could answer that. What was it going to do now?

            "Come out and show yourself," said Sendoh trying his hardest to be brave.

            "Sendoh!" snapped Miyagi. "This is not the time to be funny."

            Suddenly, the door burst open and Yoshiko came running in holding something gleaming in her hand. It was a handful of those crystals. Sheaths of silvery light escaped from the crystals enclosed within her fist through the cracks between her fingers. Nobody knew why, but at the sight of Yoshiko carrying those crystals they each felt a pang of relief. 

The evil thing must have seen those crystals too, because before Yoshiko had a chance to drive it away it away, an unearthly shriek pierced the night. Mitsui felt the hairs at the back of his neck prickle with fear and his nerves screamed with terror at the horrible, evil sound of that shriek. Fujima and Jin even covered their ears in horror. Only Yoshiko stood firm. The thing gave another shriek before it fled out of the house, away in to the dark, swallowing night outside.

Nobody felt like sleeping after that. They just sat in a circle staring with gaunt, weary expressions at the blank wall. Mitsui looked around him. He could see a ring of terrified faces. Kiyota kept looking wildly around for no reason. Miyagi was trying to comfort Ayako. Everyone was wishing fervently for the comforting rays of dawn to come. 

"Will it be back?" asked Maki shakily.

"Not tonight, I think," answered Yoshiko.

"Will it continue to sneak in like that again?" asked Ayako.

"I don't know, Ayako-san," said Yoshiko again. "I really don't know. The faster we find its grave and send it back the better."

Soon, the first rays of sunlight began to filter in through the windows sneaking across the room, warming them. Though it did wash away their fears a little, it also added up to their melancholy and grim mood. It was another day of hopeless searching.

Tbc.

Aha..another chappie done. Not very interesting, though. Don't forget to review ok?


	7. Chapter 6: But Fear Itself

Slam Dunk is not mine…Reality is harsh.

Chapter 6: …But Fear Itself.

            "Any luck at all?" asked Miyagi even though he knew the hopeless answer.

            "No," Yoshiko sighed wearily. In her heart she was beginning to doubt this whole business. What if this way her mother had once taught her was not right at all? What if it was completely wrong and would not banish this evil contamination away? If this whole thing were wrong, everyone in Kanagawa would be in danger of a supernatural evil from another world. 

            "That was the fourth graveyard," said Kiyota to Jin. Jin did not say anything but just nodded silently and wearily tried to mumble something back in reply.

            It was getting dark. All of them headed straight back to Sendoh's house without any dinner. All of a sudden they had all seemed to lose their appetites. Fujima picked up the newspaper and stared at the screaming headlines dully. The words printed in bold black printing were so big that even Maki across the room could see it clearly. KANAGAWA IN A STATE OF TERROR!

            "What does it say?" asked Jin quietly even though he had already guessed what had happened.

            "What else?" Fujima replied in a hollow voice. "More brutal murders, victims killed and mutilated in the most gruesome ways, police baffled, people afraid to leave their homes at night, some psycho murderer on strike again, etc."

            There was a long, empty pause at this. The sudden silence was so eerie and sharp, cutting in a midst of all conversations that Mitsui began to feel uncomfortable. He was relieved when Miyagi's voice suddenly broke the long, heavy spell of that void-like silence. 

            "This is so stupid!" Miyagi burst out suddenly. Mitsui could clearly see anger and frustration mirrored in his eyes. But, he thought he saw something else, too. Fear. Miyagi was shielding his fear behind this mask of frustration. "What are we doing searching all the cemeteries in Kanagawa for one, single grave. For crying out loud, we don't even know who's grave it is, except some evil soul's, who's awoken from his slumber!"

            "There is no alternative," Yoshiko said firmly but quietly. Mitsui noticed that she had been badly shaken up by the events of the past few days. "This is the only way we can get rid of this evil. By sending it back to where it belongs."

            "We could run," suggested Miyagi rather desperately. "We could just flee from here and leave the thing behind, couldn't we?"

            "I wish we could," Yoshiko sighed. "But, we in a way are responsible for setting this creature free. Besides, this thing will follow us. It has seen all our faces and it won't leave us be until it has killed all of us, because only we are the ones who can stop its evil work. If we run, we'll probably spend the rest of our lives running."

            "She's right," Mitsui put in. "Sometimes, we can't always run away from our fears. This is one of those times. This is one of the times where we have to summon up every ounce of courage we have to turn around and face our fears headlong."

            "I hope you know what you're talking about," muttered Sendoh to himself. 

            "Just remember one thing," said Mitsui again. "All of us have nothing to fear, but fear itself."

*          *          *

            Miyagi headed downstairs for a drink. His throat felt surprisingly parched and sore, and he realized that he had hardly drunk anything for the whole day. Just as he reached the kitchen, he suddenly had an odd, tingling sensation. He knew what this sensation was; it was the feeling that he was not alone. At this sudden and terrible knowledge, he felt all his blood freeze. An icy chillness was creeping across his skin, his nerves were tingling in horror and his heart was pounding madly. 

            _Change of plan, _thought Miyagi grimly as he turned to go back upstairs. Strangely, he did not feel thirsty anymore. Too late. Suddenly, a nameless fear struck him. He suddenly felt afraid. Very afraid. The terror was overwhelming. It was muddling his thoughts, confusing his thinking and it confounded his brain. Just a few seconds ago, he could think clearly enough to try to go back upstairs, but now, here he was cowering in mindless terror unable to keep his thoughts straight.

            He could not see that creature, but he felt its malicious presence chill him to the bone. He could hear its silent, mocking laughter echoing in the darkness and silence or the night. He could hear it in his head. And suddenly, the terror overcame him and seized his thoughts. He started to run. He did not know where he was going, but he just wanted to be run away from this abomination. He tripped and bumped into pieces of furniture. He did not know that he was heading out of the house, straight into the creature's arms.

            The silence of the night was ripped and torn apart by a scream of mad terror. Then, all was silent. 

Tbc.

Ahah! Seven chappies down! Review!


	8. Chapter 7: Grief

Slam Dunk does not belong to me. If I were a billionaire, I would buy it from Mr. Takehiko Inoue…….

Chapter 7: Grief 

            Sendoh stretched and yawned. The dark bags that hung under his swollen eyes indicated that he had not slept well last night. He glanced about at the sleeping forms that lay sprawled exhausted around him. Huddled at one corner of the room, Fujima and Kogure, already awake were talking in hushed tones. Glad to see some people awake, he carefully made his way among the sleeping forms to the two of them.

            "Ohayo," he greeted them quietly. They looked up from their conversation and nodded, acknowledging his presence.

            "Ohayo."

            "Let's go downstairs for something to eat," suggested Sendoh. "I'm starving, and besides we need energy if we're going more grave hunting today."

            "Not funny," said Fujima sourly. Both he and Kogure got up and headed quietly out of the room, following Sendoh. They walked down the stairs cautiously looking about nervously. _Why do I even have to be careful? This is my own home. Shit, that thing is really freaking us out_, thought Sendoh. _The sooner we get rid of that thing the better._

            "Hey!" exclaimed Kogure suddenly, his voice hinted a faint note surprise. "Why is the front door open? I remember shutting it last night after coming back!"

            Those words struck Sendoh's heart with a deathly chill. Suddenly, a terrible fear overrode him. His fearful expression must have shown on his face, because Fujima started staring out through the open door, thinking. "Could it be – that thing?" he asked uncertainly.

            "Let's hope not," answered Sendoh grimly. They stepped outside the house and stared around but found nothing. 

            "Maybe you did forget to lock the door last night after all, Kogure," said Fujima hopefully. 

            "I did! I remember doing it! How could I forget with that thing on the loose?" came the protesting reply.

            "What's that?" cried Sendoh suddenly, pointing to a dark shape lying near a small clump of bushes in the lawn. All three of them froze. But even from where he stood, Kogure could already recognize the muffin shaped hairstyle.

            "No, no," cried Kogure in horror and shock leaning against a wall for support. "Please Kami-sama, no." 

            The form was a very dead Miyagi, sprawled lifelessly on the grass in a strange angle. His eyes were frozen open in and expression of utter shock and terror, and his face was rigid with fear. There was a trickle of blood oozing slowly out of the corners of his lips and more blood trickling out from his nose. His hands were balled into fists and his fingernails were filthy with dirt. Sendoh could imagine the moments before Miyagi's death, with Miyagi screaming in mindless terror, his fists scrunched up and pounding on the ground and scraping at the dirt in panic. He shuddered at the terrible image.

            "Miyagi," Kogure's voice came in a barely audible whisper. His face was rigid with shock at the sight of his own team member and friend lying dead before his eyes. He was too shocked that he did not notice the tears slowly slipping out of the corners of his grieving eyes.

            Then suddenly, they heard footsteps and spun around. It was Mitsui, Yoshiko and the rest of them. "Hey, you guys are up early!" greeted Mitsui. Then he froze.

            Rukawa's eyes widened in shock. Kiyota stopped short. Jin and Maki just stared, petrified. Yoshiko gasped. "M-miyagi?" cried Mitsui. "What's he doing lying there?"

            It was a plain, stupid question, but they all could not believe what their eyes saw. Then reality struck all of them cruelly. Ayako was the first person to react. 

            "RYOTA!"

*          *          *

            Grave hunting for that day was obviously the last thing in everyone's minds. They were just too shocked. They had taken Miyagi's body to the hospital, where, so far, the doctors could not even determine the cause of his death. Mitsui who was staring out of the window suddenly leaned back and felt sick. What kind of evil creature was this? What kind of evil life had this hateful soul led when it was alive? Mitsui sighed deeply in his thinking. He had lost a friend. That devilish creature had killed his friend. Suddenly, a burning rage coursed through him clearing all his confusion and fears for the moment. _I will find you and sent you back to the hell where you belong, _he silently swore at the thing.

            Nearby, Ayako was sobbing uncontrollably. Kogure and Yoshiko were trying their very best to console here. _She really did love Miyagi, I guess, _thought Yoshiko to herself. _So I'm comforting her here. But the problem is, who's going to comfort me?_

Everyone in the room shuddered and felt uneasy. They could feel something evil watching them, laughing at their sorrows, feasting on their grief. They could feel the waves of freezing malice it emanated. All of them, though they were not really a small number, felt most vulnerable. With this vulnerable feeling, came another raging emotion; hatred. They began to hate this thing that watched them, laughed at them, and slowly devoured their minds.

Tbc.

The next chapter will be more interesting. Do review! 


	9. Chapter 8: Odd Reaction

Slam Dunk is not mine!!!! Life is so unfair!!!

Chapter 8: Odd Reaction

            It was two whole days before the forlorn group continued their fruitless search. Now, they were searching out the Wakou Cemetery. At every snap o a twig breaking, or every rustle made by the wind stirring up dead leaves caused all of their heads to snap up and stare around in a wild, fearful way. Each of their faces no longer looked normal, instead were tinted with a great strain and fear. Paranoia was slowly eating into them. Yoshiko bent over a gravestone and gingerly cleared a layer of dust from it with her fingers. At the same time she held the little pouch of crystals right under the name carved. They did not light up at all, but only a faint swirl of light coursed through the dull fragments, as if mocking their fruitless attempt. 

            "I'll bet that there's nothing in here at all," muttered Kiyota grumpily. He was trying to sound normal, but there was a strange unnatural quality in his voice, causing Maki and Jin nearby to shiver. _Did they all sound like that? Like they were all losing it?_

            "You never know, that might be a chance," said Kogure. 

            "Fat chance, Kogure-san," snapped back Kiyota.

            "Oh, we'll still have to try even if there's little chance of it being here," said Yoshiko waving her hand a little impatiently. They continued to trudge through the silent cemetery, Mitsui and Yoshiko leading, with Kiyota and Jin trailing far behind.

            Kiyota was pouring out an endless list of complaints to Jin, who was listening vaguely, his eyes glancing warily about for any sign of eerie presences about. There was none. Then, something caught his eye. His shoelace was undone, and it was trailing in the mud behind his shoe. He bent down and absently began to know his shoelace up again when he froze. Surely that was a little cackle of mocking laughter coming from somewhere near him. A strange chill was creeping up his spine, and his blood turned to ice. He let out a little gasp, and immediately, his jaws remained wide open as a cold force darted out of nowhere straight into him. It was going to take over him! It was controlling him! He opened his mouth to scream, but his mouth would not open in its own accord any more. 

            He desperately tried to fight off the alien force inside his own head, but it was too strong. It was already in him. Then Jin's eyes swiveled to Kiyota a few steps ahead, still mumbling and complaining to himself. A strange smile lit up his features. Meanwhile, Kiyota, not aware that Jin was no longer beside him was continuing to mutter, "Number one Rookie just knows that there is nothing in this graveyard. We're just wasting precious time."

            "Kiyota," came a strange voice behind him. Kiyota whirled around instantly and saw only Jin. He nearly heaved a sigh of relief. Then his eyes lingered on Jin's face and he froze. True, this person looked exactly like his friend, but there was a strange chilling quality in his voice at the way he said his name. Then Jin's smiling face began to alter, to a half pleading, half warning look, as if some creature inside was fighting to warn him. Then his face snapped back to the strange, lingering smile. In a flash, Kiyota knew. 

            "You're – you're not Jin-san," he gasped. Then he began to yell out to the others at the top of his voice. "You're not Jin!"

            In a move of surprising speed, the creature controlling Jin knocked Kiyota over and pinned him to the ground. His fingers snaked around the throat of the struggling boy, crushing his windpipe, blocking out the air supply. Kiyota fought as hard as he could, trying to pry the malicious fingers on his neck, but Jin, with superhuman strength did not even waver. He could not kick up at his assailant, as Jin's weight was pressing down on him.

            Meanwhile, Maki, Rukawa and Fujima streaked back to the scene. "Jin!" yelled Fujima in horror. "What are you doing?" The three of them fought to pull Jin away, but Jin merely shoved them and they went flying, crashing into the ground. Kiyota's violent thrashing was subsiding a little, and his arms, though still slinging on to Jin's hand was almost limp. Then Rukawa jumped in front and valiantly tried again to separate the two of them. It was then the creature controlling Jin looked up for the barest of moments. The expression on his insane features froze for a moment. Slowly, unmistakably, his face shifted into a look of utter _amazement._

            Everyone else stopped and stared to. Was this evil creature looking _susprised?_ Kiyota seized the chance as soon as he felt the grip on his throat slacken and with a terrific effort managed to push Jin off him. Jin continued to stare at Rukawa, who, completely nonplussed stared back. Then the creature made Jin's legs spring up and sprint away nimbly avoiding the gravestones on the ground. "Stop him!" choked Kiyota suddenly. "That's not Jin-san!"

            Immediately, Mitsui, Sendoh and Rukawa sprinted after the running figure. They crashed through the bushes and twigs clumsily, tripping over gravestones as they ran. Mitsui could clearly hear Sendoh utter strings of curses at every trip. Jin, however, with inhumane speed darted out of the cemetery….straight into the main road. He paused in the middle of the road, right in front of an oncoming car. The real Jin inside began to yell in fear.

_What are you doing? Let me out!_

            The reply came soon enough. _I will, in a moment Jin-san. _Jin felt the thing leave him just as the car crashed into him. The thing had left him to die. Before he could jump safely out of the way, he felt a terrific impact jarring his body, rattling his whole body. The impact scooped him up and threw him at the side of the pavement with a sickening thud. He lay, his body at a very odd angle, a crimson pool beginning to form around his form, spreading wider and wider in a circle of blood, staining the pavement. He felt that his bones were all broken as his organs shattered. Darkness closed in from all corners of his vision. The others, who were struck still at the other side of the road had watched the scene horrified, unable to help their friend. 

"JIIIN!!!" 

Tbc.

Nice? Review and tell me. I'm sorry if the plot is a bit hazy here and there. 


	10. Chapter 9: Anger

NOOO!!! Slam Dunk is not mine!!! HOW COULD THIS BE!?

Chapter 9: Anger

            Kiyota's voice tumbled out from his throat in dry, cracking sobs. His eyes were swollen and red as a result from spilling too much tears. Jin's broken body lay before all of them, lifeless and cold, one with the dust on the ground. _Jin,_ Kiyota's heart whispered silently. _Jin, please, no. How could this be?_ Yoshiko gripped Mitsui's hand very tightly, as if she was using some force to will Jin to come back to life. But he was dead. Maki's tanned face was now several shades paler, almost ghostly in his grief.

            The driver of the car who had hit Jin rushed out of his vehicle, his eyes lined with anxiety and horror at what he had unintentionally done. "Hey, you guys!" he called to them. "Is your friend all right?"

            Then he stopped short when he saw Jin's body drowning in the pool of blood, bones sticking out at odd angles, eyes tightly shuttered behind pale lids with not the slightest breath of life lingering in his sprawled form. "I – I didn't mean it!" gasped the man. Nine pairs of accusing eyes rose to meet his, clearly noting the fear flickering in his eyes. "He - he shouldn't have run out in the road like that!"

            Kiyota rose, his swollen eyes seemed to flash with unmistakable anger. "Are you blaming Jin-san for this?" he snarled suddenly, the corners of his lips curling with hatred. "How dare you blame him when it was your own stupidity that caused his death!" 

            Sendoh and Mitsui laid wary but firm hands on Kiyota's shoulders. "Let's go, Kiyota-san," said Sendoh. "It wasn't really that man's fault. It was that creature's. Let's go."

*          *          *

            The wind gently slipped in through the open windows, causing the curtains to billow daintily. A figure sat by the windowsill, staring blankly out at the night, unaware of the wind cooling his feverish skin, unaware of the tears that constantly burned his eyes every few minutes, unaware of the dangers that lurked in the night. All his thoughts that ran through his head were cracked with grief. 

A string of memories flooded in his tortured mind. He could almost see and hear the rhythmic thudding of a basketball being dribbled across a court. Then there was the satisfying swish of the ball swirling through the netting, and basketball trainers thumping on the floor. And the most heartbreaking part was a figure of another boy together with him, smiling; his eyes clearly screamed out a challenge, sweat glistening on his rippling muscles, his lean body quivering with exhaustion. Jin. Those were the times when he, Kiyota, and Jin played one-on-one.

More recent memories assaulted his memory. The basketball court faded in a blurry mist and the scene soared back to the accident. Jin was no longer running energetically down the court, but he lay sprawled on the pavement, silent and still. The blood encircling in a horrifying scarlet pool. So much blood. The scene wavered before Kiyota's eyes as tears stung his already smarting lids.

The sound of a door being opened jerked him back to the harsh reality he lived in. He whirled around and saw Yoshiko. "Kiyota-kun," she said quietly. 

Kiyota stared at her, his eyes clouding over with hatred. "Witch," he said spitefully, putting as much emphasis as he could on the single word he uttered. "It's your fault we're in all this shit."

"Nani!" cried Yoshiko enraged. "How dare you accuse me for something I didn't do?"

"Your foolish mother caused all this, and it's partly your fault, too! Why did I ever follow you in?" He knew he was being unreasonable, but grief and rage and terror had woven themselves into his life, completely altering the person he once used to be. "The hell with fortune-telling!"

Just then Mitsui entered. He had overheard their argument. "Don't accuse Yoshiko of everything!" he yelled angrily at Kiyota. "It was our own fault that this thing is here. We brought all this upon ourselves when we wanted to try this whole fortune-telling thing! She tried to stop us but we wouldn't listen to her!"

"She's the cause of all this!" spat Kiyota. But he got to say no more, as at that point, Mitsui had lunged at him. A fight ensued between them. Mitsui did not know why he had just thrown himself at Kiyota like that. It wasn't because he was defending Yoshiko, but he later realized that he was so angry and frustrated at how things were turning out that it had affected his actions. Both boys pummeled each other furiously, each venting their frustrations, bitterness and grief on each other. 

"Stop it!" cried Yoshiko shrilly. "Mitsui! Kiyota!"

The others had appeared at the doorway. Kogure, Maki, Sendoh and Fujima valiantly tried to separate the boys from each other. From the doorway, Rukawa watched with glassy eyes, and Ayako's gaze was also unfocused. At long last, they managed to split both of them up, before they ripped each other's throats out. Somewhere in the shadows, a creature, one with the dark watched, its fiery eyes mirrored cruel satisfaction and evil delight flickered at all the turmoil it was causing.

            The forlorn group sat huddled together, gazing at each other for comfort, but found none. Each was too shaken-up and terrified to comfort the other. Fear had eaten its way into their frail circle, and it was eating its way slowly and with cruel relish into their lives, their thoughts and their sanity. Mitsui could feel the heavy, hopeless burden of despair bearing down upon his shoulders. There was not the faintest spark of hope in this dark tunnel of terror they were all crawling so helplessly in. As he closed his eyes and shuddered, he realized that he had given up hope long ago.

Tbc.


	11. Chapter 10: Breaking Point

Slam Dunk is so not mine…"sniff"

This chapter is broken down into the POVs of several different characters. There are so many of them that I thought that maybe I should give a picture on their thoughts. So bear with me through this chapter, because I'll try to make the next one as interesting as possible.

Chapter 10: Breaking Point

Ayako's POV

            _Ryota. Ryota._ Where are you? Have you left me behind just like that? You promised to hold me throughout this dark night. You promised to protect me and soothe me as I go through this passage of fear. And you were all I had. You were all I had that kept me clinging on to my sanity. And now you're gone. You told me I had nothing to be afraid of, nothing to fear, as long as you were by my side, and you were right. I had nothing to fear. But where are you now? 

            Damn you, Ryota. You and your empty promises. You comforted me with a pack of lies, then you just died like that. So what if it isn't your fault? So what if you didn't mean to just die like that? You left me alone behind. With that thing. Nights are so terrifying without you by my side. Can you imagine all the nightmares that sweep through my head at night, leaving me no peace? Everywhere I look I can only see, feel and taste fear. Every day I live, I feel I'm one step closer to this endless abyss of insanity. What's going to stop me from falling in, Ryota? You're not here anymore, so who's going to stop me from becoming totally insane and paranoid?

Kiyota's POV

            A hazy cloud of memories comes swirling through my mind in a nightmarish torrent every time I think of him. Why did it have to be Jin? Why couldn't it have been somebody else? Why couldn't it have been me, instead? That hellish creature just had to have Jin. That thing just had to kill him off and make me feel all the agony here. Everywhere I go, some taunting voice seems to be whispering Jin's name in my tortured ears. 

            He is…he was, my best friend. All those memories, all those happy times together, gone. Gone like the last sputter of a candle flame, like the last murmur of the wind, like the last rays of sun vanishing behind the hills. And now I try to relive them, I try to play all those memories again in my head, but a more gruesome image mars those joyful images. A picture of _his_ body, soaked with crimson, so peaceful and yet so horrifying in death. That scene…so calm, and yet so agonizing.  

            I can't relive those happy times because they're all marred and disturbed by this picture. This picture of agony which plays itself over and over again in my mind, and then rewinding back to the beginning again. This torture will never stop. It is never ending.

Sendoh's POV

            What is the hardest thing to do in the world? Mitsui, Yoshiko, Rukawa and the others don't know it. But I do. The hardest thing to do is to smile when you least feel like it. Smiling when you are feeling the total opposite of happy. And that is what I have been doing lately. I've been fooling everyone with this stupid smile of mine, but I can't fool myself. In truth, I'm just as scared as they are. This is all just a fake attempt to mask all my fears. I bottled them up within me, and now it is eating its way through me. Fear is slowly destroying my already crumbling self. 

            Pretending doesn't mean being strong. And a smile doesn't always signify happiness. Especially my smile. Inside, I was crying out loud, wanting to be released from this mounting terror and frustration. But outside, there's nothing. Only a smile riddled with fake cheeriness and eyes glowing with unreal optimism. And behind it all, behind this mask and smile, I'm breaking slowly, my silent cries unheard and my mind slowly giving way.

Rukawa's POV

            Damn. What could it be? What was that look that creature gave me using Jin's face? I remember all, especially when my eyes met Jin's, who was under the control of that thing, and I remember the _look _that creature gave me. It was the weirdest thing that ever happened. That look…it was almost as if that thing _knew _me. But how could it? I'm sure I've never met it before. Could I have some connection with that thing? No, it can't be. Then what is it? The sooner we get down to the root of this mystery the better.

Fujima's POV

            OK, this is seriously frustrating. If I wasn't so polite and all, I'd voice out my thoughts about how we look like a bunch of terrified idiots. This whole experience is one freaky horror story. And not only are we all totally paranoid, but we also look stupid. I mean, come on, nobody goes walking through cemetery after cemetery searching for a nameless grave to send some shadow creature back to where it belongs. It's like a typical horror story people tell their kids in hope of scaring them to sleep at night. 

            While we visit the burial grounds of the deceased, Mitsui and Yoshiko always hold this strange pouch of crystals under every grave hoping to see them light up for some sign of open doorways to the spirit world. The rest of us just tag along behind. We'd be easy targets for that thing, especially those lagging behind. That's how Jin died and Kiyota nearly got killed. Apart from that we look ridiculous, but we can't help it. We can't find this "open doorway" and it's driving us all nuts. Frustration wells up in our hearts every time our searches turn up fruitless. All I want to do now is to punch walls and bang my head on the floor. Sounds like some bratty kid throwing tantrums, but that's exactly how I feel.

            Mitsui and Yoshiko are still searching animatedly for this nameless soul's grave, and we just tag behind. Are we nuts? Are we all losing our marbles or something? No, I don't think so. We're already insane to be doing such stuff like "grave-hunting". And what's all this nonsense about fortune-tellers, spirit worlds, evil souls and the supernatural? We're definitely all plumb crazy.

Mitsui's POV

            So here we all are, one forlorn group huddled together. What time is it? I don't know. How many days have we been searching? I don't know. Does anybody miss us? Hell, I don't care. All I want is to go back, and set things correctly. I want things to be normal again, but how can it? We have been so foolish and stupid to mess around with things we don't understand, and this is the result. Miyagi dead. Jin dead. And others dead as well, caused by the evil creature's pitiless hands. Fukuda, Hanagata, Haruko. They are dead, too. We never saw their bodies with our eyes, but we saw them on the news. All our fault. 

            The rest of us are still trying to hang on to our sanity, but the fact remains that we're all losing it. We're fighting a losing battle, where all of us are slowly dying out. This nightmare we are all going through is not going to end. There's no sign of light at all. We only have each other to depend on. But so what? That's all we have. We can't depend on each other, because none of us have the strength to comfort the other. So, though we are one group, each of us are actually alone, divided by the boundaries of this nightmare. Each of us are slowly drowning in our own realms of despair and hopelessness. 

Finally, I have to admit that everyone has a limit, a breaking point. And we are all approaching that point fast.

Tbc.


	12. Chapter 11: Dead Endsand a Brainwave

Slam Dunk does not belong to me. Sniff.

Almost there! Two more chapters or so and I'm finally done! OK, I'm really sorry about the loooooong break, but I had the usual nasty, wait, make that very nasty, exams to deal with. And those times I wanted to update, I found that I could not access to ff.net. Sigh. There was a request about adding romance and SenRu in this fic. Sorry. Much as I like SenRu (it's my fave pairing too! ^_^) I think I'm too deep into the story to add any romance. It's nearly the end. Gomen nasai….and to those people who reviewed me…arigato gozaimasu! ^_^

Chapter 11: Dead Ends…and a Brainwave.

            The familiar exhaustion he had experienced so many times these days seeped into Mitsui's mind as he slumped wearily on the plush sofa. The rest of them were also sprawled all over the luxurious living room of Sendoh's house. In the midst of their fatigue, they could also feel the shadow of hopelessness hovering over them. The night was quiet, nobody seemed to bother to strike up conversation and lighten the tense mood of the room. Fujima glanced at the clock. Seven o'clock. Time for dinner. Yet, there was this uneasiness and dejectedness stirring in the pit of his stomach, completely draining his appetite. Neither of them were willing to go out in the dark to get food. The reason was clear. Fear.

            "Was that the last one?" Ayako asked at last. Yoshiko looked at her and nodded dispiritedly. After searching continuously, where each day had been so torturous having been weighed down with grief and fear, their efforts were still fruitless. No grave, no open doorway, no light from crystals, the only thing that remained behind with them was the terror that hunted them.

            "Maybe those crystals of yours weren't functioning," said Maki. 

            "They're supposed to!" cried Yoshiko, near tears. The events of the past few days had finally begun to take a toll on her. Now, even she did not know what to do. She could see all of them breaking one by one, terror corroding into their weakened selves. 

            "We have searched all the cemeteries in Kanagawa but we haven't found anything," Kogure pointed out the obvious.

            "Maybe we missed something out," Sendoh said.

            "Yeah, sure," said Kiyota sarcastically. "Weird, but I'm pretty sure that I saw all my great-grandparents' graves at least three times over the past few days."

            "Really? Maybe it's just because you got lost or something," said Sendoh with equal sarcasm. 

            Kiyota opened his mouth to make another remark, but another voice cut him off. "Shut up, you guys!" came the angry voice of Kogure. Everyone turned around to stare at him in surprise. Kogure? Get angry? "Do all of us here have to listen to your continuous arguing day after day? Do I have to be the one who's always peacemaker? Why can't I just have some peace even if for a few minutes?"

            Both Kiyota and Sendoh kept their mouths shut, but more out of shock than of fear for Kogure's words. And despite the silence, Kogure did not get the peace he wanted. 

            Then Maki spoke up. "Maybe, the grave of this soul," he said slowly and thoughtfully, "was buried in a graveyard once. But it must have been a long time ago, right Yoshiko?"

            Yoshiko nodded. "Then maybe, in those years, the graveyard could have been destroyed for development!" Maki continued excitedly. Everyone shifted their attention from Kogure to Maki. And slowly, the simplicity yet realness of his statement seemed to sink into their heads. Why had the idea not dawned in their minds before?

            "It makes sense," said Fujima thoughtfully. 

            "Does that mean we can't ever send that thing back?' demanded Mitsui to Yoshiko. There was an abrupt silence at this. Nobody had thought of that. They each could feel all the terror wash over them again. Having to live with this shadow for the rest of their lives? Spending their whole lives running from it?

            Before Yoshiko could answer, Rukawa cut in. It was the first time he had spoken all day, so they all turned to him in surprise. "I know a place," he mumbled, his voice so low that they all had to bend forward to catch his words. "It used to be a cemetery once, but now the government has decided to build a new building in that spot. The place is a mess, full of broken bits of gravestones and trash."

            "Lets go there," said Yoshiko at once. Suddenly, her worn out face that had been etched with lines of fatigue seemed to glow with a new hope. 

            "What? Now?" demanded Sendoh staring at her as if she was out of her mind. "It's already dark."

            "Yeah, that thing could be out there," put in Maki.

            "Can't we wait until tomorrow?" Fujima's voice this time.

            "If we wait, more people will get killed tonight!" protested Yoshiko. "And anyway, Rukawa, when are those builders going to clear out the place and start building?"

            Rukawa stared at her for a moment, and seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "That building project has been postponed for quite some time but it is ready to be carried out. I think they might start any time this week."

            Everyone stared incredulously at him. "Great, now we have a time limit," said Kiyota gloomily.

            "No choice, then, but to go now," said Sendoh. Everyone turned the place upside down in search of torches and a supply of batteries. Yoshiko took up the pouch of crystals and stuffed it into her pocket. Nobody wanted to leave the house, though their safety wasn't guaranteed by staying in there, it was better than the alternative; wandering blindly in the dark.

            "All right, Rukawa, since you know the way, you lead," said Kogure cautiously. They stuck together, like a bunch of frightened kids. The light from the streetlamps cast pools of yellow light on the dark pavements. The grim shapes of buildings loomed up eerily. Their huddled, elongated shadows crept across the ground fearfully. Every moment, they would count the shadows to make sure that there wasn't an extra one. The streets were not surprisingly deserted. 

            Finally, Rukawa stopped at a place they had never been to before. Rusted fence encircled the area, and the entrance, a gate almost torn off its hinges swung open, squeaking noisily every time chilling gusts of wind swept through it. They glanced about nervously before entering. Neither of them had anything to say. The place was indeed a mess, as Rukawa had mentioned. Scattered on the grass, discarded food packets and bits of paper scuttled in the night wind. Broken stones littered the whole place. If not for the few upright graves standing, they would have mistaken the place for some abandoned dump. 

            Yoshiko pulled the pouch of crystals from her pocket. Opening the pouch, she glanced down at them and gasped. The others turned to look at what she saw. Faint light that was getting gradually brighter pulsed and rippled across the tiny gleaming fragments. "This is the right place," Yoshiko confirmed.

            Then, they proceeded to wander around, trying to find the spot where the crystals' light was brightest. The place was not very big to their relief. Soon, they came to a lone gravestone, still upright, surrounded by broken bits from other stones. As they approached, the crystals in Yoshiko's hand suddenly erupted with a brilliant almost blinding white light. Every single fragment seemed alive with the dancing light, and with a mysterious forbidden beauty. There was no doubt, that they, at last, had found the open door to the spirit world.

            They knelt down gingerly by the grave. "Shine your torch here and lets see whose cursed name is engraved over here," said Mitsui to Ayako who had the torch. 

            Meanwhile, Rukawa was suddenly feeling sick. He knew that he should be happy and relieved that they had found what they had been so intensively searching for, and yet, there was only a horrible feeling of dread crawling in his stomach. As they had approached the grave, this feeling of dread had begun to grow until his knees nearly gave way. He suddenly remembered the look of surprise that Jin, who was under the control of that creature, had given him. Somehow, he knew that now he was about to get to the bottom of the whole mystery, and yet, he didn't feel eager to know.

            Ayako shone the torch on the grave and Mitsui bent forward to read the name carved on the stone which must have had endured the elements for centuries. Rukawa cast away all pretence and collapsed onto his knees, his stomach churning. As Mitsui read the name aloud, all their faces, hooded by shadows from the light of the torches, turned to stare with utmost shock and disbelief at Rukawa's own pale face. 

Tbc.


	13. Chapter 12: Confronting Your Worst Fear

Slam Dunk most **obviously** does **not** belong to me.

Lalala…we're nearly there~

Chapter 12: Confronting Your Worst Fear

As Mitsui read the name aloud, all their faces, hooded by shadows from the light of the torches, turned to stare with utmost shock and disbelief at Rukawa's own pale face.

*          *          *

            "HIDETO RUKAWA," read Mitsui. There was a very abrupt silence at this. Nobody gasped or gave horrified or shocked exclamations like they had been doing so often for the past few days. The only sound audible was their breathing laced with the wind whispering in the shadowy darkness.

            "It – it could be another person sharing the same surname as Rukawa. Doesn't necessarily have to be related to the Rukawa Kaede over here," Fujima's teeth chattered with cold.

            "Yeah," the others agreed fervently. It had to be, right? Rukawa kept silent. He knew that whatever they were saying was total garbage, all a lame attempt to make him feel better. He remembered the _look _of amazement the creature had given him using Jin's helpless body. But who could tell? There wasn't any real proof right? And maybe he along with the rest of them had imagined the whole incident. Maybe they had imagined _this_ whole series of happenings and horrors as well.  Maybe Jin, Miyagi and the others who had been murdered were not really dead after all, and once this dream was over they would wake up and live again. Maybe…

            "We have to start the ritual now," said Yoshiko suddenly, her thin voice cutting the silence like an extremely keen-edged knife.

            "Ritual? What ritual?" asked Kogure sharply. "The same rigmarole your mother did?"

            "No, this is to send the shadow back to eternal slumber."

            "Err…what do we need? A fire?" asked Fujima.

            "I think just the crystals, an incantation and the soul's name."

            "Good, we have all three of those," said Sendoh sounding relieved. "I was worried we'd have to go on another long search for nothing while that _thing_ goes on a killing spree."

            "Do we have to form a circle round the grave and start muttering spells or something? Or maybe drawing a pentagram on the ground and shedding some blood?" asked Mitsui. "You know, like those goofy horror movies where people call up demons to do their bidding or something?"

            "No," said Yoshiko. "This is not a movie."

            "Well, begin," said all of them looking at her impatiently. The discovery of the creature's name and grave seemed to be lost with their fierce eagerness to purge the terror and shadow which had been stalking the streets, their sleep and their lives. 

            "All right," came the reply. "But first I'll have to call the shadow here to where we are."

            "WHAT!" cried all of them in unison. "No way!"

            "I'm not having that thing near to me!"

            "Are you out of your mind?"

            "We'll all be killed!"

            "Forget it!"

            The stream of shocked reactions to Yoshiko's startling statement lashed out like distorted wails amid the hissing wind, which had grown stronger, through the night's sleepy quiet. "Then forget having a safe night of sleep for the rest of your lives," Yoshiko countered icily. "And Mitsui, I remembered that you once said that we have nothing to fear but Fear Itself. And we are about to face it now. Are we going to run for the rest of our lives? It's worth a try confronting our fear now, by approaching it face to face."

            "Can't we just send it back from wherever it is now?" asked Ayako almost pleadingly.

            "Not possible. The creature _has_ to come here to its grave because it's the only open door back to the spirit world."

            "All right," Mitsui took a deep breath. "We're all ready. Begin."

            There was a dead silence. Every face was turned to Yoshiko, eyeing her carefully and fearfully. Yoshiko shut her eyes and took a deep breath, as if in serious meditation, shutting out the world before her; all their pale faces, and the lone upright gravestone glaring coldly at her. She tried to ease her restless mind and began to think back about the incantation used to summon the spirit back to her. She found herself floating half-aware, half in a dream, in a fathomless void, which was her mind. Everything was dark, and the words to the incantation were clouded. She could not see. She stirred in desperation, she had to find the words, had to help her friends, had to undo the evil….

            Then, there was a blinding flash of light and the whole void of her mind was illuminated for a split second, then the darkness together with the void was completely obliterated. The surreal feeling she had felt was suddenly shattered as she was jerked back to the real world. Her eyes snapped open and a stream of words in a language she herself did not understand flowed out continuously and fluently from her trembling lips. Meanwhile, the others who had gathered around her watching had not been able to see what she was going through. They had only seen her close her eyes and mutter something so soft that they could have mistaken it for the wind hissing spitefully in their ears. Mitsui leaned forward to catch what she was saying, then his eyes widened when he realized that she was speaking in a language he could not understand. She was muttering an incantation. Her voice steadily rose louder until it became high-pitched, with a hint of an almost-desperate note in it.

            Chills were running up and down Mitsui's spine. He remembered that spell. It was the one Soruko Minaki had used to summon the spirit out from the spirit world. The spell had backfired; causing the evil that was maliciously hounding them now to be awoken from its slumber. Silently, he prayed that everything would go all right and smoothly. Then he realized the changes that were occurring in the night. Above them, a cloud of blackness, darker than the darkness of the night was crawling almost lazily, blotting out the weak light of the street lamps and the stars above. It was the shadow. And it was _huge_. Not like the time when they had seen it kill Soruko. It was several times larger, and its darkness seemed to spread wider and wider, until they were enveloped by an inky expanse of blackness. And they saw its eyes. Burning slits carved on its empty dark face. And behind those slits, fiery abysses yawned hungrily. It had pinpointed its prey. It was the first time they had ever seen it face to face. The other times and close encounters with it, they had merely felt its cold, devilish presence. 

            Yoshiko looking up, saw that her summoning incantation had worked, and immediately began chanting another spell. This one was to send the creature and its malicious presence back to where it belonged, where enchantments that should not have been tampered with, would encase it in eternal slumber. This time, her voice began loud and powerful, as if she was voicing out a command in a language that did not exist in the world of the living. The shadow that engulfed them seemed to flicker, and they could feel a wave of its fury bearing down on them. Yoshiko, with unwavering courage continued her spell. She had the upper hand now. A black wind screamed ferociously in their ears, lashing out at them with an icy whip of malice. The air was suddenly full of wails and snarls, as if a dozen rabid animals had been caged in together. 

            "Yoshiko!" cried Mitsui warningly, but she did not pay any attention to him. She continued to recite the spell, which now flew out of her easily, as if she had practiced it over and over again. The air in front of the gravestone began to waver and transparent ripples began to pulse in the air, like it was an invisible wall. Then the ripples began to cease and move inward, forming a circle that rapidly shrunk. This continued until the air was shivering on one concentrated spot right in front of the gravestone. Meanwhile, the creature screamed in helpless wrath, the power of the spirit world drawing it back was beyond its wavering strength.  Mitsui noticed that the great shadow had somehow begun to diminish; its hold of evil on them was loosening slowly but surely.

            The spot of quivering air suddenly exploded outward into a circle of blue flame and beyond the circle was nothingness, from which a dreadful magnetic power was opening its arms to reclaim the lost soul back. All of them huddled in terror and edged as far away as possible from the flaming circle, which burned suspended in midair right above the gravestone. 

            "Go back to where you came from, Hideto Rukawa!" cried Yoshiko commandingly. Then she reached for her pouch of crystals and flung the whole bagful into the open air. Each glittering fragment glimmered with a light of its own, and they did not fall to the ground, but flew higher into the air engulfing the shadow in a silvery shroud. Like a sparkling twister of shadow and crystal, the whirling mass of light and dark was sucked right into the circle. Then the circle, blue fire and all vanished. There was a loud explosion as the gravestone burst into a thousand shards of stone. The evil was forever sealed in slumber.

              The night now seemed cheery and lighter. The lashing wind had died down to a faint murmur, which caressed their frozen faces gently. Neither of them spoke a word, they were still recovering from the shock they had all received as a result of confronting their worst fear. But now, even the darkness of the night seemed dazzling, compared to the inkiness of the shadow. They gazed at each other's pale faces and realized, that somehow this was not a dream. The shadow had passed.

Tbc.

Stay tuned for the last chapter! Don't just vanish now the interesting part has been done with. And to those who found this awfully long-winded, sorry! 


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